Windowgate assembly



March 10, 1970 A. D. LouKAs 3,499,246

WINDOWGATE ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 26, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MA, Mu

BY M wi /@1 ATTORNEY INVENTOR March 10, 1970 A. D. LOUKAS WINDOWGATE ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 26, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV TOR M/f BY j A ORNEY United States Patent 3,499,246 WINDOWGATE ASSEMBLY Annette D. Loukas, 4021 Beecher St. NW., Washington, DC. 20007 Filed Feb. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 708,372

Int. Cl. E06b 7/32 US. Cl. 49-169 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to animal access closures generally, and more particularly to a novel and improved removable windowgate assembly.

Conventional closure assemblies for providing access for household pets to a house or apartment normally require the modification of an outer access door. Such door modifications are not only undesirable but are often prohibited in apartments and rental homes. Also, for household cats, extensive door modification is unnecessary.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved windowgate assembly for use with sliding windows which may be easily inserted or removed from the window opening.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved windowgate assembly for sliding windows which is adapted to be inserted in the window opening to provide a substantially air-tight closure.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved windowgate assembly for sliding windows which may be easily operated by small household cats.

The foregoing and further objects and details of this invention will be readily apparent upon the consideration of the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of assembly of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective sectional view showing a portion of the mounting assembly for the windowgate assembly of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the windowgate assembly of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the closure of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view illustrating one side of the windowgate assembly of the present invention;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view illustrating the opposite side of the windowgate assembly of FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the edge of the closures for FIGURES 5 and 6.

The windowgate assembly of the present invention is designed to enable a small animal, such as a cat, to leave or enter a house at will and to be easily removable whenever the animal is to be kept indoors. This assembly is adapted to be employed with either vertically or horizontally sliding windows, but for purposes of description, the assembly will be described herein in connection with a vertically sliding window.

the windowgate Referring to FIGURE 1, the windowgate assembly of the present invention includes closure members 1 and 2 which are adapted to close an opening defined by a frame 3. It is apparent that the opening in the frame could be closed by a single closure member, but two closure members are preferred as will be hereinafter described.

For vertically sliding windows, the height of the frame 3 is normally less than half the height of a standard size lower window, while for horizontally sliding windows, the width of the frame 3 will normally be one half the width of the sliding window. The frame is mounted in the window opening by a detachable shim 5 which cooperates with a tongue 4 formed on one edge of the frame. The edge of the shim 5 is provided with a groove 6 to receive the tongue 4, while the edge of the shim opposite the grooved edge thereof is formed to cooperate with the track of the sliding window. In FIGURE 1, the edge of the shim and the edge 3a of the frame which contact the track of the window are illustrated as smooth edges which fit in a window groove track, but it is obvious that this shim and frame edge may be provided with grooves or projections to permit the shim and frame to fit in window tracks of various constructions.

The closures 1 and 2 may be suitably hinged or otherwise pivoted relative to the frame 3 by means of hinges indicated at 7 in FIGURE 1. As illustrated in FIGURE 1, the closure 1 is hinged to one surface of the frame to swing in a first direction while the closure 2 is hinged to the opposite surface of the frame to swing in the opposite direction. Thus one closure will open into a room while the other closure opens toward the outdoors.

With reference to FIGURES 3, 4, 5 and 6 it will be noted that the windowgate assembly of the present invention may be insulated so that when the assembly is in place within a window opening, a substantially air-tight closure is provided. To achieve such insulation, insulating strips 8 may be placed along the upper and lower surfaces of the frame 3 to provide a tight insulated joint between the frame, the sliding window and window casing against which the frame rests. Normally, due to the tongue and groove configuration of the frame 3 and shim 5, no insulation is needed at the joint between these members, although suitable insulation could be provided.

In FIGURES 5 and 6, frame 3 has been modified to include a separator 3b which divides the opening into two sections. Closure 1, FIGURE 6 view, and closure 2, FIG- URE 5 view, are provided with molding 9 attached at 9a (shown in FIGURE 7) near the bottom and side edges of each closure to overlap, the modified frame on three sides of either opening in the direction in which the closure shuts. Thus molding extending from closure 1 is placed upon one surface of the frame 3 while molding extending from closure 2 is positioned on the opposite surface thereof to permit the closures to swing in opposite directions. As :will be noted from FIGURE 7, the inner surface of the molding may be grooved and provided with an insulating strip 10 to seal the closures noiselessly against the frame 3 when reverting to the closed position thereof.

The peripheral bearing surfaces adjacent either opening within which each closure rests may also be provided with grooved molding similar to that of FIGURE 7 which is attached at 9a to the frame 3 as illustrated at 14- in FIGURES 5 and 6. When insulated molding is provided on the frame as indicated, it will be noted that insulation surrounds each opening and also the rear of each closure but is positioned so as not to impede the free movement in opposite directions by the closures. This can best be achieved by allowing insulation strips 10 to be slightly recessed within the grooved edge facing the rear of each closure to insure that the closures will fall back completely within their respective openings. This insulation 3 acts as a shock absorber which enables the closures to swing back noiselessly within each opening.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be noted that modified closures 1 and 2 have been secured to the frame 3 by means of hinges 13. Each of these modified closures is formed by a large panel indicated at 11 and 12 which overlaps the frame 3 and the adjacent closure. Each such panel may include a projecting portion which extends into the opening in the frame 3 when the closure is in the closed position.

The closures of FIGS. 3 and 4 are formed of lightweight material which is preferably insulating material. Thus, for example, the closures may constitute unitary molded panels of plastic foam material such as polyurethene, or foam rubber or similar lightweight material. Also, the panels 11 and 12 may be separate panels of this lightweight material which are removably fastened to the closures 1 and 2 of FIG. 1 by snaps or other suitable fasteners to form the closure configuration of FIG. 3.

Each closure shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be covered with any suitable weather resistant material which has the pliability to bend under the pressure of the. hinges 13 under which the panels 11 and 12 immediately rest as shown in FIG. 3. This covering material may be vinyl sheet material or other suitable weather resistant material which covers the lightweight foam or insulating material forming the basic structure of the panel. It is possible that this covering material could be stuffed with fiber glass or loose insulating material to provide a lightweight cushioned, insulating closure instead of employing a solid molded closure panel.

The modified closures 1 and 2 of FIGS. 3 and 4 act as insulators against drafts, absorb shock when swinging to a closed position, and by resting against the rods of the hinges 13, deter wind from pushing the closures open. However, these closures operate easily under the pressure exerted by a household cat while using the device. The cushioned texture of these closures is ideally suited for this purpose, as small household cats could be injured by a heavy closure panel; particularly one operated by a spring action hinge for closures which move in either direction.

In the operation of the closure assembly of the present invention, the frame 3 and the shim are of substantially equal thickness and height. To set this assembly in place, the lower window of a vertically sliding window is raised to its full height and the frame 3 is inserted into the window opening with the edge 3a thereof in the sliding window track. The shim 5 is then placed immediately above the frame 3 in the opposite track of the window casing and is moved downwardly in the track to cause the tongue 4 to slide into the groove 6. When the shim is moved downwardly until it rests with the frame 3 against the base of the window casing, the combination of the frame and the shim will provide a windowgate assembly having a width equal to the width of the sliding window. At this point, the lower window is closed tightly against the. top of the frame 3, and the weather stripping 8 along the top and bottom of the frame seal the windowgate in place.

The windowgate may be easily removed from a window opening by reversing the insertion procedure. First, the lower window is raised to its upper extremity, and the shim 5 is moved upwardly until the tongue 4 is free from the groove 6. Then the shim 5 and the frame 3 may be easily removed from the window.

It will be noted that the windowgate may be adapted for either left or right handed persons by merely reversing the frame 3 in the window casing so that the shim may be inserted on either the left or right hand side of the window casing. Although the windowgate assembly was originally made to fit a standard size window width, it can be easily widened by varying the width of the shim 5. The windowgate assembly can be employed with horizontally sliding windows by merely reversing the edge construction of the frame so that the shim 5 will slide along the 4 top edge illustrated in FIGURE 1 while the edge 3a of the frame, which cooperates with the window track, will be the lower edge in FIGURE 1. The weather stripping then would be provided along the side edges of the frame to seal against the window casing and the vertical edge of the horizontally sliding window.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention provides a novel removable windowgate assembly which may be easily inserted within a window casing to provide a solid, secure structure within the window. This assembly may be easily removed when it it desirable to lock the window or to retain the animal within a house or apartment.

What is claimed is:

1. A removable windowgate assembly mountable within the casing of a sliding window having peripheral edges mounted by opposed, spaced slide tracks to facilitate window movement relative thereto to provide an opening comprising a frame adapted for insertion in the opening between said casing and sliding window, said frame having a first pair of spaced, substantially parallel peripheral edges, one of which is adapted to engage an edge of said sliding window and the other of which is adapted to engage said casing, a second pair of spaced, substantially parallel peripheral edges extending between and substantially perpendicular to said first pair of peripheral edges, and an access opening formed therein intermediate said first and second pairs of peripheral edges, closure means pivotally secured to said frame to close said access opening, said closure means including a first closure of light weight insulating material dimensioned to cover a portion of said access opening, and a second closure of light weight insulating material dimensioned to cover the remaining portion of said access opening, each said first and second closures being dimensioned to extend beyond said access opening to overlap the adjacent surfaces of said frame and the remaining closure whereby said first and second closures completely close said access opening, and hinge means to secure said first closure on one side of said frame for pivotal movement in a first direction and said second closure on the opposite side of said frame for pivotal movement in a direction opposite to that of said first closure, and shim mounting means having a first portion thereof adapted for sliding engagement with one of said slide tracks and an opposedportion thereof adapted for sliding engagement with one of said second pair of peripheral frame edges to secure said frame in said casing, said shim mounting means and second pair of peripheral frame edges being of a length less than one half the length of the peripheral edges of said window which are mounted by said opposed spaced slide tracks.

2. The removable windowgate assembly of claim 1 wherein said first and second closures constitute respectively first and second panels of foam plastic material, each said panel of foam plastic material being attached to a panel pivotally mounted within said access opening by said hinge means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,964,332 6/1934 Rembaum 49-380 X 2,524,230 10/1950 Martin 375 X 2,648,273 8/1953 Collida 98-99 2,756,466 7/1956 Garland 49-163 x 2,932,279 4/1960 c1166 119 -19 X 3,091,221 5 1963 Worm 119-19 3,325,237 6/1967 Dirk er al. 49-464 X DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKI, Primary Examiner P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

4937l, 465; ll 9l9; 160-180 

